News

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services yesterday issued several blanket waivers easing certain Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program requirements to give health care providers and suppliers greater flexibility to meet emergency health needs during Hurricane Michael.

Hospitals reduced abdominal hysterectomy surgical site infections by 13 percent and central line-associated bloodstream infections by 11 percent in 2016, according to a report released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The University of Utah Health and the Mayo Clinic yesterday received International Hospital Federation Awards, which recognize hospitals and health care organizations with demonstrable excellence, innovations and outstanding achievements in health care.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has posted an errata for the Medicare Severity-Diagnosis Related Groups definitions manual for the ICD-10 coding system.

The AHA’s Society for Healthcare Strategy & Market Development has chosen as its 2019 president-elect Holly Sullivan, director of strategic partnerships, strategic growth and development for Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Mich. Sullivan will become president of SHSMD in 2020.

AHA today encouraged the Federal Communications Commission to provide sufficient funding for health care providers to manage pilot projects under its proposed Connect Care program.

Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar yesterday declared a public health emergency in Florida as Hurricane Michael approaches, and waived or modified certain Medicare, Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program requirements to give health care providers and suppliers greater flexibility to meet emergency health needs.

The Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division today announced a settlement that would allow CVS Health and Aetna to proceed with their proposed merger if Aetna divests its Medicare Part D prescription drug plans to WellCare.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency will host a one-hour webinar on Oct. 15, 18, 24 and 26 to review and answer questions about planned updates to the National Response Framework to incorporate learnings from the 2017 hurricane and wildfire season.

The Food and Drug Administration yesterday released a series of guidance documents intended to help manufacturers develop generic transdermal and topical delivery systems, products that deliver a drug through a patient’s skin.

The Health Resources and Services Administration’s Workplace Partnership for Life 2019 Hospital Organ Donation Campaign began Oct. 1 and runs through April 2019.

A total of 832 acute care hospitals and 715 physician group practices are participating in Medicare’s Bundled Payments for Care Improvement – Advanced model, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services announced today.

Participating today in a panel discussion in Washington, D.C., on bundled payment, AHA Chief Medical Officer Jay Bhatt, D.O., said hospitals and health systems participating in bundled payment models need timely data to make evidence-based decisions on changes to care delivery and cooperation across care settings to succeed.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has activated its National Response Coordination Center in Washington, D.C., and Regional Response Coordination Center in Atlanta in preparation for Hurricane Michael, which is expected to make landfall as a major hurricane within the next 24 hours along the Florida coastline

The American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration, an AHA professional membership group, today announced its new board members and officers for 2019.

The AHA recently presented 2018 Hospital Awards for Volunteer Excellence to four extraordinary hospital volunteer programs for their positive impact on patients, hospitals, health systems and communities.

U.S. News and World Report will host a Twitter chat on building healthy communities at 1:30 p.m. ET Oct. 10.

The week also includes National Depression Screening Day, dedicated to raising awareness and screening people for depression and related mood and anxiety disorders.

The InfraGard Cyber Health Working Group, a partnership between the FBI and information technology professionals in the health sector, will host a conference Oct. 25-26 in Charlotte, N.C.

“If we can’t do something for our own neighbors, what can we do across town or in another city?”